MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGB Technical - min to max oil level

How much oil does it take to raise the level from min to max on the dipstick?
Steven Rechter

from what I can see, my MG manual doesn't give exact quantities for min and max, but it does give capacities for the whole system.

late cars 6 U.S. pints, 7.25 with oil cooler
early cars 9 U.S. pints, 9.6 with cooler

therefore my guess is around 1 quart from min to max.
Steven J. Korotky

One quart I believe.
Steve Simmons

one quart
Carl W French

I'm not sure of the exact amount but on my two cars it's less than a full quart but more than a pint. FWIW, Clifton
Clifton Gordon

In my 67 it seems to take about half a quart or maybe a little more but definitely not a full quart. The 70 seemed to be about the same.

-Jared
Jared Snider

If you look at www.mgbmga.com you'll see a discussion of the different oil dip sticks and pans.
Barry
Barry Parkinson

I wonder if it's an Imperial Qt.?
Fred H

An Imperial Qt is .833 US Qt. I bet that's it.
Fred H

Fred, I thought an Imp. Qt, was larger then a US. Qt.
Who is right? RIC
Ric

I believe it is one US pint.

rick
rick ingram

Ric is correct. 1.2 US quarts (or pints) equals 1 Imperial Quart (or pint). That's why it takes Brit's so long to finish a pint - it's something like 20 ounces! You can also reverse Fred's ratio and you got it. In most places I've seen the capacity listed, it is listed in US measurements also.

Cheers,

Dean
Dean Lake

As a boy we used to travel to Canada a good deal in the summer. I do know that an Imperial gallon is the equivalent of 5 US quarts (the US version being 4 quarts).

As a somewhat older boy, I firmly believe that a pint is the same (about 500 ml) on both sides of the Atlantic.

So, I'm guessing that it's still 2 pints to the quart, as the math would be quite impossible if an Imperial quart was 25% larger than a U.S. one, and therefore 5 quarts to an Imperial gallon.

Even if the UK has gone all metric (except for miles, for whatever reason), I wonder if someone could let us know.

But - an imperial quart is either the same or larger (and not smaller) than the US variety. And a pint is never a quart. (Mind your P's and Q's, Ric!)

FWIW, my dipstick marks seems to indicate a quart from low to high, but to be honest, I never thought it would be anything else!
John Z

Just to add to the confusion:

An Imp. pint is approx 568.26 ml.
A US pint is approx 473.18 ml.

An Imp. pint is 20 oz., versus 16 oz for a US pint. If you do the math, you'll find that an Imp. ounce is about 28.4 ml, whereas a US ounce is about 29.6 ml. So while their pints are bigger, we've got bigger ounces. (And, when I was in Scotland I noticed that the bottled beer looked funny. Then I realised that I'm used to seeing a 355ml bottle, and over there I was getting 330ml. Same proportions, just a little smaller. You could still get a good deal though, because I saw stores offering 10 for the price of 8. I think I like 8-packs over our 6-packs.)

There are only 4 quarts to a gallon wherever you are ("quart" from French "quarte," "fourth"). But -- what size are the quarts? An Imp. quart is 1.136 liters, a US quart (liquid) is 0.946 liter, and a US quart (dry) is 1.101 liters. So a US gallon (liquid) is 4 x 0.946 liters or about 3.7853 liters, and four US gallons (dry) is not a dry gallon, but 1/2 peck! I vote we go metric.

And like John, I assumed that the difference between the marks would be a quart and never thought to question it.
Rob Edwards

For me--a little over 4 quarts plus a new filter. I don't drive more than a thousand miles or two per year in either of my MG's, so by the time it's down to the refill line, it's also been long enough to think about an oil change. Just my way of doing things...Not for everyone, I'm sure. Works out to about every six months or so.
R. L Carleen

and those UK "Party Fours" that contained 4 pints of ale were wonderful. 80 ounces, huh? Wonder if they still have them. Kind of what you took with you when you left the pub to be able to continue the party. Did I go off the track here? I am SO easily amused...or is it confused?
J.T. Bamford

Empirically, I have noticed that it never takes a full (US) quart to bring up the level from min to max on any of the MGA/MGB dipsticks I have worked with. I don't know the quantity, but there is always some left over in the bottle. FWIW
Bob Muenchausen

Today, it took 3/4 of a (US) quart to move the oil level from "min" to "max" on my 79. Les
Les Bengtson

I've not topped it up yet but my GT has just done 978 miles from max - min. Daily drive is 16 miles each way and I usually manage to get to 90 - 95 indicated. Oil consumption improved a lot after first oil change when I found the sump bolts were loose and tightened them.
Vic
V Todman

For those of you interested in bushels and pecks, quarts and pints, and chains, perches, and miles, take a look at 'Measuring America' by Andro Linklater. Fascinating discussion of the chaos that passed for measurment until very recently.

Steve
Steve Aichele

Bloody hell, Mates! If below the min line put some oil in, if above the max line drive the hell out of it till it is down in the range!
Though Safety Fast!
Cheers!
Geoff Kimler

It is a British car and the amount between the marks is a British pint (568 ml) - well it is on my '71.
Mike Howlett

Gentlemen, thanks for all of your responses.

It appears that the answer to my question is ultimately specific to the dipstick and oilpan combination. Though half to three fourths of a US quart seems to be the accepted range.

Geoff, good answer though I worry about over filling and blowing out seals or foaming the oil.

You gotta' love this BBS!
Steven Rechter

Although I'm new to MGB ownership, I'm far from being a newbie for owning and working on sportscars. I changed the oil for the first time on my 67B and found it took almost 6 quarts of oil which kinda shocked me. I called Rob at MGT's to make sure something wasn't screwy but I listened to his advice and filled it to the 'full' mark. The 'imperial' measurement would explain why it took 6 US quarts.
Mike MaGee

Mike. You may want to check your copy of the workshop manual. Mine states, "Sump--7 1/2 pints (4.26 litres, 9 US pints)". "Almost 6 quarts of oil" is "almost" 12 pints or 33% more than the workshop manual calls for. Might be worth investigating. Les
Les Bengtson

Steven,
I wouldn't worry about over filling by the difference between a US qt. and an Imperial qt. or whatever the dipstick measures. A few extra ozs. won't cause any damage. Can anyone tell me whether the oil level should be properly measured on a cold engine or one at operating temp that has been freshly shut down? There's probably the difference between the US and Imperial measurements sitting in the oil passages.
Bill
Bill Boorse

I agree with Les. I just filled up at exactly "min" and used 3/4 of a quart to get to "max" after running it for a few minutes.
Mike King

Les, does that 4.26 liters include the oil cooler and hoses, or could that explain the extra quart? Just wondering.
Jeff.
Jeff Schlemmer

Jeff. Darned if I know. Can only quote the "factory figures". I do know, that when I do an oil change, it takes slightly less than four US quarts to do the job. Les
Les Bengtson

Stick to pints.

Mike
Mike

This thread was discussed between 11/08/2003 and 26/08/2003

MG MGB Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGB Technical BBS is active now.